That’s true amongst fans. But its not the fans that are Cutler’s biggest problem. Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Timeswould seem to agree:

“The backlash over his leaving the Bears’ 21-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers after the first series of the third quarter isn’t so much an indictment of the media, which has mostly only reported what his peers have written on their Twitter accounts, or the evils of social networking.”

Exactly. Its his fellow players, the people who know him or have talked to others who know him, that are taking the shots that count. ESPN‘s NFC North bloggerKevin Seifertspeculates as to why:

“If there were simply one or two players speaking out, maybe you could write them off as extremists. But the cross-section that we’ve already heard from suggests Cutler’s departure struck a true nerve not just among fans but among his peers as well. Part of me wonders if it was more an indictment of Cutler’s standing with his peers than it was a serious questioning of his toughness. If you don’t like someone, you’re going to be much less likely to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

This goes way beyond dislike. Players dislike each other all the time. This is a total lack of respect. As I pointed out yesterday in total agreement with Michael Wilbon, in that respect Cutler made his own bed.

Trent Dilfer at ESPN gets the last word on Cutler and I think he bottom lines the root cause for the reaction to the injury amongst current and former players. Every Bear fan should watch this video. I think he’s hit the major point square on the head. If you are not disturbed by this as a Bear fan, you should be: